So the largest ever spectrum auction which had been the talk of the town concluded on Thursday, with the government being assured Rs.65,789 crore in revenue. Of the 2,355 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum put up for sale across seven bands, only 965 MHz or around 40% got sold. The much awaited auction saw just 31 rounds of bidding and concluded on the fifth day. We’ve updated our Pan India spectrum holding chart with the results of the October 2016 spectrum auction, which you can refer to for details.

So from Rcom losing its 2G spectrum in Gujarat circle to Tata coughing up a fortune to retain its own in Mumbai, we’ve witnessed it all. The purpose of this article is to outline which operator spent how much money in which circle to stay relevant in the ever increasing competition in the telecom sector. Let us first consider each band that was put up for sale individually.

700 (Band 28) and 900 MHz (Band 8) remained unsold :

The 700 MHz spectrum which the government made free after cable TV digitization, found no takers on account of its high base price. There was also no bidding for spectrum in the 900 Mhz band as the incumbents had already gathered enough spectrum in this band in the previous two auctions. The 700 MHz band itself was expected to go for a total of Rs 4 lakh crore had the entire amount that was put for sale been sold at floor price.

850 Mhz ( Band 5 ) :

In 850MHz band, 15MHz got sold out of the total 73.75 MHz put up for auction. Reliance Jio was the only operator which won airwaves in this band in four circles. Given below is the chart of the spectrum won in 850 MHz band along with the winning bid value.

Circle

Operator

Spectrum

Winning Price

Gujarat

Jio

5 Mhz

1677.24 cr

Punjab

Jio

3.75 Mhz

512.58 cr

Rajasthan

Jio

5 Mhz

1159.92 cr

UP East

Jio

1.25 Mhz

289.98 cr

1800 Mhz ( Band 3 ) :

In 1800 MHz frequency band, 175 MHz out of the total 221 MHz put up for sale was sold. Mainly operators bought spectrum in this band to deploy 4G networks. Airtel bought the spectrum in 8 circles, Vodafone in 11 circles, Idea Cellular in 12 circles while new entrant Jio picked the airwaves in 8 circles. While Tata ended up spending a fortune in a bargain to retain its 2G operations in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh circles. Given below is the chart of the spectrum won in 1800 MHz band along with the winning bid value.

Circle

Operator

Spectrum

Winning Price

Andhra Pradesh

Tata

2.4 Mhz

583.2 cr

Assam

Airtel

3.8 Mhz

152 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

200 cr

Vodafone

8 Mhz

320 cr

Bihar

Aircel

1.8 Mhz

111.6 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

310 cr

Jio

5 Mhz

310 cr

Delhi

Vodafone

2 Mhz

798 cr

Gujarat

Idea

8.4 Mhz

1999.2 cr

Vodafone

3 Mhz

714 cr

Haryana

Airtel

1.6 Mhz

79.88 cr

Idea

4.8 Mhz

236.64 cr

Jio

1 Mhz

49.3 cr

Himachal Pradesh

Idea

0.6 Mhz

9.6 cr

Jio

5 Mhz

80 cr

Jammu & Kashmir

Airtel

2.4 Mhz

31.2 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

65 cr

RCom

5 Mhz

65 cr

Jio

10 Mhz

130 cr

Kerala

Vodafone

0.6 Mhz

49.8 cr

Kolkata

Airtel

2 Mhz

302.3 cr

Vodafone

2 Mhz

302.3 cr

Madhya Pradesh

Idea

4.6 MHz

381.3 cr

Maharashtra

Airtel

5 Mhz

1590 cr

Idea

2 Mhz

636 cr

Tata

5 Mhz

1590 cr

Mumbai

Tata

5 Mhz

2446 cr

North East

Airtel

1.4 Mhz

15.4 cr

Vodafone

7.8 Mhz

85.8 cr

Punjab

Airtel

0.8 Mhz

61.6 cr

Idea

2 Mhz

154 cr

Jio

5.2 Mhz

400.4 cr

Vodafone

3 Mhz

231 cr

Rajasthan

Airtel

1.8 Mhz

165.42 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

459.5 cr

Vodafone

4.2 Mhz

358.98 cr

UP East

Jio

3.4 MHz

452.71 cr

Vodafone

2 Mhz

266.3 cr

UP West

Idea

7.2 Mhz

722.16 cr

Jio

5 Mhz

501.5 cr

Vodafone

2.4 Mhz

240.72 cr

West Bengal

Idea

5 Mhz

230 cr

Jio

5 Mhz

230 cr

Vodafone

7.6 Mhz

349.6 cr

2100 Mhz ( Band 1 ) :

In the 2100MHz band, 85 MHz out of 365 MHz put up for sale was sold. Airtel won spectrum in 5 circles including Kerala circle making it the first operator to achieve pan India 3G spectrum footprint. Vodafone picked the airwaves in 7 circles including 10 Mhz of spectrum in Tamilnadu, hinting that it might use it for FD-LTE. Third largest operator Idea Cellular won similar airwaves in 4 circles. Given below is the chart of the spectrum won in 2100 MHz band along with the winning bid value.

Circle

Operator

Spectrum

Winning Price

Bihar

Airtel

5 Mhz

430 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

430 cr

Delhi

Airtel

5 Mhz

2770 cr

Haryana

Vodafone

5 Mhz

275 cr

Jammu & Kashmir

Airtel

5 Mhz

55 cr

Kerala

Airtel

5 Mhz

885 cr

Maharashtra

Vodafone

5 Mhz

1705 cr

Mumbai

Idea

5 Mhz

2305 cr

Odisha

Vodafone

5 Mhz

190 cr

Punjab

Vodafone

5 Mhz

455 cr

Rajasthan

Airtel

5 Mhz

700 cr

Idea

5 Mhz

700 cr

Vodafone

5 Mhz

700 cr

Tamil Nadu

Vodafone

10 Mhz

3440 cr

UP East

Idea

5 Mhz

550 cr

Vodafone

5 Mhz

550 cr

2300 Mhz ( Band 40 ) :

In 2300MHz band the entire 320 MHz that had been put on the block got sold. Pureplay 4G operator Jio added 10 Mhz of spectrum in 16 circles to augment its capacity and bring LTE Advanced networks in future. Market leader Airtel also bagged 10 Mhz in 13 circles. Birla owned Idea too added spectrum in their three key leadership markets of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Given below is the chart of the spectrum won in 2300 MHz band along with the winning bid value.

Circle

Operator

Spectrum

Winning Price

Andhra Pradesh

Airtel

10 MHz

683.4 cr

Jio

10 MHz

683.4 cr

Assam

Airtel

10 MHz

20 cr

Jio

10 MHz

20 cr

Bihar

Airtel

10 MHz

61.5 cr

Jio

10 MHz

61.5 cr

Delhi

Airtel

10 MHz

1430 cr

Jio

10 MHz

1430 cr

Gujarat

Airtel

10 MHz

611.88 cr

Jio

10 MHz

611.88 cr

Himachal Pradesh

Airtel

10 MHz

10 cr

Jio

10 MHz

10 cr

Karnataka

Airtel

10 MHz

980 cr

Jio

10 MHz

980 cr

Kerala

Idea

10 MHz

175.67 cr

Jio

10 MHz

175.67 cr

Kolkata

Airtel

10 MHz

330 cr

Jio

10 MHz

330 cr

Madhya Pradesh

Idea

10 MHz

82 cr

Jio

10 MHz

82 cr

Maharashtra

Idea

10 MHz

630.61 cr

Jio

10 MHz

630.61 cr

Mumbai

Airtel

10 MHz

1460 cr

Jio

10 MHz

1460 cr

North East

Airtel

10 MHz

10 cr

Jio

10 MHz

10 cr

Odisha

Airtel

10 MHz

40 cr

Jio

10 MHz

40 cr

Tamil Nadu

Airtel

10 MHz

1320 cr

Jio

10 MHz

1320 cr

West Bengal

Airtel

10 MHz

50 cr

Jio

10 MHz

50 cr

2500 MHz ( Band 41 ) :

In the 2500MHz band, 370 MHz out of 600MHz that had been put up for sale was sold. Idea Cellular picked airwaves in 16 circles while Vodafone bought the spectrum in 15 circles. Both operators plan to expand 4G LTE network in the coming months across the country. Given below is the chart of the spectrum won in 2500 MHz band along with the winning bid value.

Circle

Operator

Spectrum

Winning Price

Andhra Pradesh

Idea

10 Mhz

680 cr

Assam

Idea

10 Mhz

20 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

20 cr

Bihar

Idea

10 Mhz

60 cr

Delhi

Vodafone

20 Mhz

2860 cr

Gujarat

Idea

10 Mhz

390 cr

Vodafone

20 Mhz

780 cr

Haryana

Idea

10 Mhz

80 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

80 cr

Himachal Pradesh

Idea

10 Mhz

10 cr

Jammu and Kashmir

Idea

10 Mhz

10 cr

Kerala

Idea

10 Mhz

160.8 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

160.8 cr

Kolkata

Vodafone

20 Mhz

660 cr

Madhya Pradesh

Idea

20 Mhz

160 cr

Maharashtra

Idea

10 Mhz

580 cr

Vodafone

20 Mhz

1160 cr

Mumbai

Vodafone

20 Mhz

3380 cr

North East

Idea

10 Mhz

10 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

10 cr

Odisha

Idea

10 Mhz

40 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

40 cr

Punjab

Vodafone

10 Mhz

210 cr

Rajasthan

Idea

10 Mhz

60 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

60 cr

UP East

Idea

10 Mhz

90 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

90 cr

UP West

Idea

10 Mhz

120 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

120 cr

West Bengal

Idea

10 Mhz

50 cr

Vodafone

10 Mhz

50 cr

So, what are the final damages to the operators’ balance sheets post the auction?

Vodafone acquired 365.2 Mhz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2500 Mhz bands for a total worth of Rs. 20,280 crore.

Airtel acquired 173.8 Mhz of spectrum across the 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz bands for a total amount of Rs. 14,244 crore.

Jio acquired269.2 MHz of spectrum across the 850 MHz, 1800 MHz and the 2300 MHz band, paying a total value of Rs. 13,672 crore.

Idea acquired 349.2 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 Mhz bands for a total of Rs. 12,798 crore.

Tata acquired24.8 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for a total cost of Rs. 4,619 crore.

Reliance acquired 10 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for a total expenditure of Rs. 65 crore.

Aircel acquired 3.6 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for a total price of Rs. 112 crore.

Note: For calculating the total quantum of spectrum purchased by each operator, the uplink and downlink portions of paired spectrum have been added while the unpaired spectrum has been considered as is.

TT perspective:Although the government expected a huge revenue from the auction, due to high base price and immature device ecosystem, operators skipped 700 MHz band and filled in the gaps in their data spectrum portfolio by acquiring cheaper airwaves in 2300 and 2500 Mhz bands. While 3G is dying and operators are betting big on 4G thanks to Jio’s arrival in the market, we expect Idea and Vodafone to soon expand their 4G data network footprint.On the other hand, Airtel which now has Pan India 3G and 4G spectrum will focus on dual technology to meet data demand across the metro and rural markets. Jio currently seems to be best placed with the right mix of low frequency 850 MHz spectrum for coverage and high frequency 1800 and 2300 MHz airwaves for capacity. Also the cash rich backing of Reliance industries will ensure that the operator is able to invest on network infrastructure and expansion despite the auction expenditure.

Vodafone may lost their Susbcribers , due to lack of 3G network in AndhraPradesh. Try to Start Own 3G Network atleast from 2017 onwards.

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suvra

Vodafone has very bad service in Andhra

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Anil Kumar Vaishnav

Rajasthan 4g:-
Rcom{aircel and mts after merger}- band 3,5,40{using jio network}
Jio-band 3,5,40
Airtel-band3
Vodafone-band 3, 41
Idea- band 3, 41
Tikona-band 40{still no idea idea what they gonna do with specturm, better they merge with telenor and telenor come to rajasthan as 4g only network.}

RCom isn’t really “using jio network”. They share some spectrum and passive infrastructure, some components being shared does not mean that the network is shared. RCom customers don’t “roam” on Jio network per se, the BTS are different, to give you an example.